MMAjunkie's 'Submission of the Year' for 2016: An emotional title win scores top honors

With another action-packed year of MMA in the books, MMAjunkie takes a look at the best submissions from January to December. Here are the top five and winner of MMAjunkie’s “Submission of the Year” award for 2016.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice for “Submission of the Year.”

* * * *

Honorable Mentions

5. Demian Maia def. Carlos Condit at UFC on FOX 21 in August

Demian Maia (24-6 MMA, 18-6 UFC) once again showcased his grappling brilliance by submitting Carlos Condit (30-10 MMA, 7-6 UFC) in the first round to help his case for a welterweight title shot.

Maia needed less than two minutes to put his grappling wizardry to work. He put the former interim UFC champ on the ground and took his back to lock in a rear-naked choke for his sixth consecutive victory in the 170-pound division.

4. Nate Diaz def. Conor McGregor at UFC 196 in March

Against Nate Diaz (19-11 MMA, 14-9 UFC), fighting up two weight classes, former UFC featherweight champion and current lightweight champion Conor McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) found out that pounds very much matter in MMA when he suffered his first defeat in more than five years.

Diaz took some hard shots that opened multiple cuts on his face but ultimately weathered McGregor’s storm. In the second round he capitalized on a sloppy McGregor takedown to submit the Irish champion with a rear-naked choke in dramatic fashion.

3. Mackenzie Dern def. Montana Stewart at Legacy FC 61 in October

Grappling phenomenon Mackenzie Dern (2-0) put her Brazilian jiu-jitsu pedigree on full display in just her second professional fight, pulling off a submission that will needed several replays just to fully comprehend how it all happened.

After failing to finish her opponent in her pro debut, Dern got her fight with Montana Stewart (5-3) to the ground early and put on an absolute clinic. Dern transitioned from submission to submission both on top and from her back. Ultimately, it appeared an omoplata might end the fight, but Dern added a rear-naked choke to the hold, as well – a modification of a combination sometimes called the Imanari, named after legendary Japanese submission artist Masakazu Imanari.

2. Ben Rothwell def. Josh Barnett at UFC on FOX 18 in January

Ben Rothwell (36-10 MMA, 6-4 UFC) plowed through another victim in his attempt to destroy the UFC heavyweight division when he defeated Josh Barnett (35-8 MMA, 7-3 UFC) with a crushing and surprising submission finish.

Rothwell needed less than two rounds to dispatch of an ex-UFC champ in Barnett. He locked in a modified guillotine, which he calls the gogo choke, and squeezed with all his might until “The Warmaster” was forced to tap out for the first time as a pro fighter.

* * * *

Winner: Miesha Tate def. Holly Holm at UFC 196 in March

Miesha Tate (18-7 MMA, 5-4 UFC) said defeating Holly Holm (10-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) for the UFC women’s bantamweight title was her destiny. Apparently she was right, but there’s no way she would have predicted getting the job in the second-to-last minute of the fight.

Aside from a huge second round where she nearly ended the fight in a similar way to the finish, Tate spend most of the championship bout on the outside trying to figure out Holm’s striking game. Just when it looked like she was about to fall behind for good, “Cupcake” delivered the most memorable moment of her fighting life.

It takes just one perfectly timed movement to gain an advantage, especially when you’re a fighter like Tate. She showed great resiliency and pounced on Holm to win UFC gold in exhilarating fashion.

“The thing about me is, it does not matter how down I get at any point in a fight,” Tate said afterward. “I’ve been literally knocked down and almost out of it and I get back up and I win fights. It doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down, it matters how many times you get back up. And that’s what a champion does.”